Does anyone else have hard contact lenses?

[watergirl]

This is more of a "here I am, anyone in a similar situation, can you give me tips?" than a strict "how do I?" question.

I'm 30, and I am making the switch to contacts from glasses. My eye Dr. tells me that my astigmatism in both eyes is so serious that getting the replaceable lenses would be really costly for me, and that if they rotate in my eyes a bit, I'll get blurred vision occasionally.

So, here I am with the rigid semi-permeables or what have you, and MAN, oh, man.

I've had them for 2 weeks almost, and I've gotten somewhat comfortable with wearing them, and very good at taking them out.

Putting them in - ugh. It's not that I'm freaked out by touching my eye, or that anything - I just seem to have a very hard time getting the little lens right where it needs to be. In, try & move it up, or around, or over, or down, and then it pops out. The left eye is much more difficult than the right.

Does anyone have any tips for me? How long did it take you to get comfortable with yours? Any words of wisdom out there?

 

[StrapFantasy]

I wear soft lenses, but a trick might be to look at the center of the lens as you put it in; your hand-eye coordination will guide it to the right spot (with some practice). If you roll your eye back as you put your lenses in, you have no idea where they're going to land.

Putting a lens directly over your iris and on the white of your eye feels the same, even though most of us tend to think it isn't as uncomfortable - or dangerous? - putting a lens on the white of our eyes.

 

[warrior queen]

get another opinion.
i have terrifically bad astigmatism, but i have soft lenses.
they're called 'gelflex', and in order to combat the movement that would make my vision blurry, they've been weighted at the bottom edge which keeps them the right way up. (means they're a little thicker material around the bottom 3rd of the lens.)
every time i blink, the lens gets adjusted so the bottom edge is always down.

 

[Ast87]

I wear soft lenses, but when i first started wearing them, I did have a little trouble with them 'popping' out after I put them em...my problem was that they weren't wet enough or they were turned "inside out". And one eye is always more difficult to put in than the other. What might be a good idea is to see your optometrist and see if the contact lenses are the right 'curve' for your eye. so that they fit to your eye better. Our eyes aren't identical, and since you mentioned that one eye is giving you more difficulty, that might be the problem.

Personally, I prefer contacts over wearing glasses everyday...I feel more comfortable and confident, and I don't have to pay for perscription sunglasses any more. Its just a bitch when I fall asleep with my lenses is and I wake up 5 hours later with my eyes glued together....not fun!

 

[PoeticMusings53]

Mine fall out all the time...its a pain. Glasses are better and are hotter anyways.

 

[watergirl]

thanks!

StrapFantasy, that makes a lot of sense & I'll try it tomorrow a.m...

warrior queen - The gelflex weighted ones sound pretty sweet! But since I just spent a couple hundred on these, I am tapped out on the eyewear budget.

I know my eyes aren't identical in their curvature, but I was in last Saturday for him to check the fit, and I'm going in this Saturday later in the day so he can see how things look after I've had them in for several hours.

Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone!

 

[Carnevil9]

Are you using enough wetting solution? The instructions say to remove from the soaking solution and insert, but I go beyond that. I wear "rigid gas permeables" which is probably the same as yours. I fill the curve of the lens with solution, then pop it directly into the middle of my eye, looking straight at my finger as it approaches.

This makes my eye pretty wet with solution for a few seconds, but it always works. Good luck!......Carney

 

[watergirl]

hmm

I'll keep at it - thanks!

 

[lilwetone]

I Feel Your Pain

Ive had my hard lenses for 12 years now....a believe me it took awhile to get use to.

just give it time... remember to relax and you'll be poping them in like nothing in no time.

any questions or concerns please send me a message...ill be glad to answer them.

 

[SemiNudeLady]

I used to wear hard lenses. I had first started with soft lenses, but my eyes had a bad reaction to them so the eye doctor fitted me with the hard lenses. If I remember right, it took me 3-4 weeks to where I could wear them all day long. I started out slowly, an hour or two a day, and then increased the length of time I kept them in.

Putting them in was another chore. The first time I put them in, it took me almost 30 minutes to get the first lens in. The second one "only" took 15 minutes. That also decreased until I could pop them in and out without a hassle. Just takes time and practice!

Also, keep a bottle of wetting solution handy, as that will help keep your eyes comfortable.

 

[ewriter]

Hard and GP (rigid) lenses are quite different from softs regarding insertion and removal. As stated earlier the key is to look straight at the centre of the lens as you put it in so it sits directly onto the cornea. Soft lenses can be put on to the sclera (white of the eye) and will self centre, but rigids will not do this and will end up getting stuck in the corner or under the top lid. They are also hard to push onto the cornea from that position due to their shape. I always advise new rigid wearers to look straight at the centre of the lens on insertion. The blink reflex can be a pain, but you get there with practice. I would also try using different fingers and even different hands to put the lenses in. I have seen some pretty weird and wonderful insertion techniques but as long as it works for you and is safe then it is fine. The advise regarding putting solution on the lens is good, as a dry lens is seriously uncomfortable and takes ages to settle, just don't use tap water or (even worse) saliva to lubricate the lens. I once saw someone do this right in front of me in the test room. My respose hopfully shocked her into not spitting on her lenses again! I wore ridgid lenses for several years and regarding the comfort I found it took about 3-4 weeks before they were completely comfortable so you appear to be on the right lines. I now wear daily torics which are great, but very expensive (as are most soft torics) and I would not be wearing them if I had to pay full price I can tell you. Stick with it, and if you want any more advice just ask.

 

[StrapFantasy]

Hope you're doing better with the lenses, Watergirl!

 

[watergirl]

yep

Getting there... this past weekend was rough, but I blame the smokers I hung out with, and the amount of drinking I did. Good times were had by all!

 

[StrapFantasy]

Well, a little discomfort is alright so long as good times were had by all!

Glad to hear you're doing better. Every time I log onto Lit, I check to see if you've commented here any more. Thanks for the update.

 

[Trydantoo]

I have the hard ones also

I am talking about lens, but the other is hard all the time. My eye doctor had me try the soft ones, then the gas ones. I could see better with the curves of the gas ones better than the soft lens. Although the hard ones gave me better vision, they did feel like a rock was in my eye. But hang in there, after a few weeks, I didn't even feel anything. Remember to keep them clean and they will feel better. They last longer than the soft ones and therefore are cheaper in the long run. Good Luck!

 

[watergirl]

a month plus

Thanks for all the advice I've gotten here. I originally posted on April 26; it's June 7 now & I've gotten a lot better at putting them in. Pretty much a pop in & blink thing now.

 

[StrapFantasy]

Thanks for all the advice I've gotten here. I originally posted on April 26; it's June 7 now & I've gotten a lot better at putting them in. Pretty much a pop in & blink thing now.

Glad to hear it!